


The Nightmare Number

by RyuRan2200



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-18 14:55:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 14,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29859804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RyuRan2200/pseuds/RyuRan2200
Summary: Astral Tsukumo had a normal life, that is... until a school camping trip turns his life into a nightmare.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 3





	1. Five Years Earlier

**Author's Note:**

> My Co-authors aren't members of this site but I still want to make sure that they set get some kind of recognition since they helped me write out this story. They are both members of Wattpad.
> 
> My Co-authors are QuantumParadigmShift &Peppermint-Whiskers

A school year was just wrapping up at New Moon Academy, a relatively well-off school. As per usual, the faculty planned a trip for any students that wished to go, and that activity was camping this year. Among the students who signed up for the trip were two brothers, Yuma and Astral.

Astral Tsukumo was an orderly 15 year old freshman boy attending New Moon Academy. He was a quiet boy with oddly bright light sky blue hair and fair skin. His crystal gold eyes were always focused when he was doing schoolwork, but they were soft and bright when he was with family and friends. Though he wasn’t as strongly built as his peers, he still enjoyed playing some sports and loved seeing their faces when his tactics outmatched their raw strength and speed.

His brother, Yuma Tsukumo, is a year younger and is in the same grade as Astral, but they may as well have been polar opposites. Yuma sported light sun-kissed tan since he spent most of his time outside instead of reading books, and his dark hair with red highlights was usually a messy nest that Astral brushed clean almost every night. Although his grades weren’t the best, he kept up with his brother as best as he could. However, school wasn’t his major concern. While he kept his grades to a respectable level, he didn’t spend as much time studying as he should have. Instead, he preferred to spend his free time with friends and family.

"What are you planning on packing, Yuma?" Astral asks his brother.

"My sleeping bag, a change of clothes, my swimsuit, and a few snacks," Yuma replies.

"Then I guess we had the same idea, only I'm packing a little extra," Astral says.

"What else could you possibly need to pack?" Yuma asks, looking at his brother in confusion.

"Just these." Astral smiles at his brother while holding a book in his hand.

"Are you boys ready yet?" their mother Mira asks.

"We'll be down in a minute mom!" Astral calls back to his mother.

"Hurry up you little dweebs or you're gonna be late for the bus!" their sister Kari yells.

The boys come down stairs after they finish packing their bags, and smils at their mother and sister.

"Do you boys have everything you need?" their father Kazuma asks.

"Yep! We're all ready!" Yuma says happily.

Everyone was getting ready to walk out the door until grandma Haru stops them. "Wait, you two can't leave just yet," Haru says, smiling at her grandsons. 

"Why not grandma?" Yuma asks sounding disappointed.

"You boys need this first." Haru tosses two rice balls wrapped up to Yuma and Astral.

"Thanks grandma!" Yuma and Astral exclaim at the same time.

"Now go have fun on that camping trip," Haru says, mirroring their bright smiles.

Everyone got into the car and headed off to New Moon Academy. Right on schedule, they arrive by 8:00am. By 8:30am, the headcount was done, and every student and teacher got on the bus.

10:30am comes around; the bus pulled up to the camp grounds. The teachers instruct the students to where the bathrooms and showers are before everyone sets up their tents. The students are then asked what they want to do for the time being. One student yells out hiking while another yells out swimming, and yet another student yells out, "I wanna go rock climbing."

Each of the students were split into three groups for each of the suggested activities with three teachers each to act as chaperones. Yuma went with the swimming group while Astral went with the hiking group.

The hiking group chose a three mile trail that led into the woods wound in a circle back to the camp. Only one mile into the hike, Astral couldn't help but feel that he was being watched by something. That's when his headache returned. For the past two weeks, Astrak kept having off and on headaches, but he would never tell anyone about it so he wouldn’t be too much trouble to the family or anyone else. Even though was able to hide it, some people could tell that he was in pain. They would ask him to take something for the headache, but he would always refuse. What people didn't know was that Astral was taking anything he could get his hands on to make the headaches stop. None of it really helped, and the headache would just return with a vengeance an hour or so later.

Astral rubs his left temple to try and ease the pain, it didn't really help. One of the teachers, Miss. Raptor, saw that Astral was in pain.

"Do you want to go back to camp Astral?" she asks.

"I'll be fine, Mis. Raptor. The headache will go away on its own," Astral replies trying to hide his pain from Miss. Raptor.

"Alright, but if you need anything let me know," she tell him. She gave him one last worried look before going back to the other teachers.

Hiding in the trees, unknown to the group, was a dark figure. His mismatched eyes stared at the kids hungrily. The figure's eyes then became fixated on one person in particular. A boy with blue hair and gold eyes. 

"There you are my blue little flame," the figure says quietly to himself as he continues to watch the group.

Mysteriously, Astral's headache subsided later in the hike. Night was beginning to fall, and the groups were making their way back to camp. Astral looks around in the trees to see if anything was following him; he didn't see anything. Shrugging off the nagging feeling, he and the others got back to camp just in time for smores. He sits next to Yuma, who was shoving a smore into his mouth. Astral couldn’t help but laugh at his brother, especially when he started coughing from shoving too many smores in his mouth at once. The evening was quite nice, and Astral soon forgot his fears of being followed. However, that didn’t last long, especially when the headache returned.

In the darkness of the trees, the figure watched Astral. "Now what is your name my blue little flame?" the figure questions himself. He lays in silence and listens to the others around him to learn what the blue little flame’s name was.

Astral rubbed his left temple to ease the pain, which didn't help. This time, he couldn’t do much to hide the pain. This headache pounded behind his eyes so badly that it hurt just to move them.

"Astral, are you feeling alright?" Yuma asks him. He wasn’t even concerned about himself, not when his brother seemed to be suffering.

"I'll be fine Yuma, it's just a little headache," Astral says as he slightly flinched in pain.

The figure perked up at the mention of Astral's name. "So that's your name my blue little flame," the figure says to himself with a smirk.


	2. The First Encounter

Yuma and Miss Raptor looked at Astral with worry.

“I’m going to turn in early. Maybe a good night’s sleep will get rid of this headache,” Astral groans as he tries to stand. He stumbles and would have fallen if Yuma didn’t catch him.

“Are you alright?” Yuma asks worriedly.

Astral simply replies, “I’m just a little dizzy when I try to stand, but I’ll be alright.”

Miss Raptor starts to become very worried about Astral's health. “Yuma take Indiora to your tent while I get the nurse,” she tells her student.

“Right,” Yuma replies. He tries to help Astral get up as best as he can without causing more pain. Astral tries to get up slowly so he wouldn’t show too much pain, but that only strengthened the pounding in his head. Yuma quickly but gently helped him and made sure he didn’t hurt himself any more than he already did. “Easy Astral, easy. You’re going to be in even more pain then you already are.”

Yuma got Astral back to their tent, and Miss Raptor come as well with the school nurse. She checks him over with her instruments as thoroughly as she can, but she simply shook her head in the end. “There’s nothing I can do for him except give him the over the counter pain killer. The only other advice I can give is to let him rest.”

“Thank you Ms. May,” Miss Raptor says as the nurse administered the pills and left.

“You can go back others. Don’t let me ruin your evening,” Astral says as his headache finally started to subside. 

“Are you sure Astral?” Yuma asks, worry laced in his voice.

“I’m sure, my headache is already starting to subside.” Astral replies, trying to ease Yuma's fears.

“If you need us we’ll be right outside at the campfire,” Miss Raptor assures him before she leaves the tent.

Yuma looks back at his brother. Worry was visible on his usually relaxed face. “Are you sure you don’t mind?” he asks tentatively.

“I’ll be… fine Yuma,” Astral says as he dozed off.

Yuma smiles as he watches his brother start to fall asleep. He pulls his brother’s sleeping bag over him and whispers, “Feel better Astral.” He smiles back at Astral one last time before heading back out to the campfire.

An hour passed; the full moon was high in the sky. The teachers sent the students off to bed. Yuma goes back to his tent to see Astral still sound asleep in his sleeping bag. He felt better seeing his brother looking peaceful even if he’d be in pain when he woke up. Yuma rolls out his sleeping bad, set it beside Astral's, and settled in to sleep.

In the middle of the night Astral was woken by a voice calling his name. 

“Astral… Astral…” 

He looked outside for the owner of the voice, but all he saw was the campfire. 

“Astral… Astral…” the voice calls again.

Astral looks outside again to see if he could see who was calling his name. When he did, though, the figure found their opportunity to strike. The figure took control of Astral's mind with the wave of their hand before Astral could react or call to see who was calling him. He sat complete still, waiting for instructions from the voice. His eyes become blank golden orbs, glowing ominously in the darkness.

“Come my sweet child, come,” the voice encourages, sounding sweet and caring. Astral does as he is told and stares to leave the tent.

Feeling a sudden and nauseating feeling in his gut, Yuma wakes just in time to see Astral leaving. “Astral what are you doing?” Yuma whispers urgently.

Astral doesn’t respond. He crawls out of the tent and heads for the woods. Yuma scrambles out of his sleeping bag and races after him.

“Astral we’re going to get in trouble for this! Astral!” Yuma whispers yells at his brother, but Astral still doesn’t respond.

In another tent, Miss Raptor though she heard something outside her tent and got up to investigate. She was surprised by what she saw. Astral's eyes were glowing and hazed over. He was walking into the woods while Yuma was trying to get him to go back to the tent. Miss Raptor quickly slipped on her shoes and followed the boys into the woods.

“This way my sweet child,” the voice whispers as Astral walks into a clearing.

Yuma stops and hides behind a tree to see what Astral was going to do. He hopes that it isn’t anything terrible, but something told him he didn’t like what he was going to see.

“Go to the center of the clearing my child,” the voice says. Astral does as he is told without question. When he gets to the center of the clearing the figure released his hold over Astral's mind with the wave of their hand.

“Huh? Where am I, and how did I get here?” Astral asks himself while looking at his surroundings. That’s when the figure comes into view.

“There you are my blue little flame,” the figure purrs as it comes into the moonlight. Astral tenses at the sight of the figure. Cold fear strikes his heart; he could have sworn he felt it stop. The figure is black from head to toe with a few green and red markings. His hair swooped to his right side, and he has mismatched eyes of black and gold that have a wild look to them. He wore what appeared to be a dark purple robe with long sleeves that hung past his hands. His bottom half was ghost like, but he seemed to be standing on purple smoke. Purple smoke is also surrounding him, making him rather hard to see if the night was dark. But the night is well lit by the glow of the full moon, so Astral could see this figure well.

“Who are you, what are you, and how did I get here?” Astral fearfully asked the figure. 

“I brought you here, my blue little flame. And as for your other questions, my name is Number 96: Dark Mist, but you can call me Dark Mist if you prefer. I’m what you would call, a Number,” Dark Mist purrs with a smirk.

“What do you want with me?” Astral stammers, his voice quivering with fear. He backs away from the Number.

“I want something that you have, my dear boy, is it of great value,” Dark Mist says as he circles around Astral.

“I don’t have any of great value,” Astral replies. He continues backing up as the Number seems to float closer to him.

“If that were true, you wouldn’t be getting those headaches now would you?” Dark Mist teases with a smile. One of his sleeve-covered hands gripped Astral's shoulder; he could feel sharp nails wanting to dig into him.

“Get away from my brother!” Yuma shouts at Dark Mist as he burst out from behind the tree. 

“And you must be his brother, Yuma,” Dark Mist giggles.

“Get away from my brother,” Yuma repeats. Dark Mist's grin seems to become impossibly wider.

“If you want him, you can have him. I just need to take a little something first.” Dark Mist slips one cold hand behind Astral's neck; thus slipping into the boy’s unprotected and unconscious mind. In just a few seconds he found what he was looking for.

Yuma gasps as he watches his brother seem to be drained of his energy. His fair skin turns a sickly gray, and his normally bright eyes loose their shine. Yuma felt stuck in place, only able to watch in horror.

When Dark Mist was done draining Astral's power, he laid him on the ground gently. He didn’t want to hurt him, knowing that he still had great power within. “Until we meet again,” Dark Mist purrs and disappears into the darkness.

Finally free of the horrified paralysis, Yuma run to Astral's side. “Astral! Astral! Wake up, Astral!” he cries as he shakes his brother.

Miss Raptor, finally breaking clear of the forest after having witnessed the draining, runs over to Yuma and Astral.

“Is Astral okay?” 

Yuma gives her a sad look in response.

“Go back to camp and wake the other teachers, have them call the police and an ambulance,” Miss. Raptor instructs.

Yuma does as he is told without question and carries Astral back to camp. He was always light, but this time he seemed too frail. Once back at the camp, the police, the ambulance, and Yuma's parents are called. The police and Yuma's parents questioned Yuma and Miss Raptor; they told the police everything that happened while the ambulance takes Astral to the hospital.


	3. The Hospital

Astral is taken to the hospital soon afterwards in a flurry of noises and people; Yuma only just managed to stay by his side. There were doctors and nurses surrounding him, and all the while he held Astral's hand. Soon monitors were plugged in and hooked up to different machines, while people moved around. Things started beeping too. Yums paid no mind to his surroundings, solely focusing on Astral.

'What happened to you, Astral? Please be ok....' He gripped Astral's hand a bit tighter. Astral hadn't moved on his own accord since Yuma had carried him back, and he certainly did not do so now. He was so focused on worrying about his brother that he didn’t notice someone approach him. He was tapped on the shoulder, and he jumped slightly. In his worry, he didn’t think about paying attention to his surroundings.

"Are you his brother?" the Doctor asked him.

"Yes, I'm Yuma Tsukumo."

The doctor pursed his lips and shook his head slightly. “I'm sorry son."

Yuma stood abruptly, Astral's hand falling limp onto the bed. His heart was heavy with worry, his feelings plain for all to see. "Will he be ok?"

The Doctor sighed. "His heart is beating normally, all of the body's other functions are normal, but..."

"If everything's normal, then what's the problem?"

"His brain isn't functioning very well. I’m sorry, but he’s entered a comatose state."

"What?" Yuma fell back in his chair, disbelief ashening his face. "C-Can you fix it? Can you help him?"

"The only thing we can do is keep him alive. We will have to see if he wakes up on his own. Now please excuse me, I have to go tell the rest of your family; they're waiting outside." The doctor left, and so had many of the nurses before him.

Yuma looked over at his brother again, taking up his hand once more. 'Please, please, wake up Astral. We need you...'

Throughout the day, all of Astral and Yuma' friends came and left. Yuma stayed behind even though he was asked several times if he would like to come home. Having received reluctant permission from his parents and the hospital, he set extra pillows on the chair he was sitting in and sat awake to watch over Astral. He kept up his vigil of watching over his brother for as long as he could, but even he couldn't fight sleep, which claimed him in the end.

Out of nowhere, Astral sat up somewhere near midnight. He started to move to get up, but the cables stopped him. 

'Take them off,' a voice said in his mind. He did as commanded.

He pulled them all off carefully and swung his legs over the side of the bed, but something stopped him. Yuma moved in his sleep, sprawled awkwardly on his chair. Even though he was still because he was awaiting further instructions, Indiora also felt a strange and oddly foreign urge to stay here to make sure his brother was safe. Would Yuma worry if he woke up and found Astral missing?

'Your brother will be fine,’ the voice whispered sternly. Then, it turned soft. ‘Now, come to me.'

Astral snapped to attention, stood up softly, and walked out of the room. He snuck through the halls as best as he could to avoid people; he was lucky that there was a surprisingly small number of people, including security and hospital personnel, roaming the halls. Still, in his somewhat mindless state, he didn’t really care how many people were in the halls. All he cared about was that he arrived safely outside, which he did after thirty minutes of careful sneaking. Avoiding the bright patches of light, he made his way down towards some trees near the edge of the hospital's land and towards the figure that was waiting for him.

"Ah, there you are my little blue flame." The figure grinned at Astral. Now that they were alone and the boy was under his control, Dark Mist didn’t feel the need to hide his true nature. Just like before, his cold fingers caressed the back of his neck.

Back in the hospital room, Yuma woke up. Something wasn't right. The lights were still off, but it seemed darker than usual. Everything seemed normal, but nothing sat right. His hand reached toward the bed, but his fingers brushed only against warm bedsheets. Then it hit him. The machines weren’t beeping; their lights were off. He quickly readjusted himself on the chair so he could see the bed.

Astral was gone. Running to the window, he saw Astral standing outside, his blue hair standing out against the darkness. "Astral!" He hit the window with his palm, but Astral didn't notice. He was facing the other way and was too far away for him to hear the banging on the glass. So instead, Yuma turns and sprints out of the room.

He skidded in the hallway, and nearly ran into the doctor from earlier that day. "What's wrong Yuma?" The doctor, who was coming in to check on Astral that night, asks. His voice was laced with worry; he couldn’t help but notice the clear worry in Yuma's voice and expression.

"It-It's, Astral, he's-" Yuma couldn't get his words out fast enough. In his attempt to get them out as fast as he wanted, he ended up tripping over his own words.

The doctor tried to calm him. "Now now, calm down, I'm sure Astral's fine-"

"He's outside!" Yuma finally blurted out. The doctor looked at him for only a moment before they both sprinted outside.

As Yuma and the doctor approached, Astral collapsed on the cold ground. Yuma just managed to catch him before he hit the ground. From the corner of his eye, he glimpsed some kind of movement in the shadows, but he couldn't be sure if he ever saw it or not. That didn’t matter. The number one concern right now was getting Astral to wake up. "Astral please, talk to me. What happened?" Yuma shook him lightly. 

But he didn't answer. It was like at the camp all over again: Astral wasn't answering.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone has any questions about the story so far please leave a comment, I’ll be more then happy to answer any questions.


	4. Attacked Again

With Astral safely back in bed and hooked back up to the machines, Yuma could finally catch more sleep. A few hours later, near the break of dawn, Astrsl woke up. He looked around with no idea of where he was. He did, however, see Yums asleep on the chair beside the bed he was in.

"Yuma. Yuma!" he hissed in an attempt to wake his brother. It took a few tries, but eventually Yuma groaned awake.

"What is it Astral? I was sleeping… Wait, Astral?!" Yuma fully woke up. "Hey! You're finally awake! How are you feeling?" He smothered Astral in a hug. He didn’t think about whether or not he was making his brother uncomfortable; all he cared about was that he was awake and responsive.

"I'm alright." Astral was surprised at first, but hugged Yums back. "What happened? Where are we?"

"You mean you don't remember what happened?" Yuma released him from his hug.

"I remember seeing someone at the campsite, then nothing."

While this was concerning, Yuma simply shrugged it off. He’d let the doctors deal with this. "Well, all that matters is that you're okay."

Yuma made sure Astral was comfortable and made sure he went to sleep so he could rest as much as possible. Yuma took it upon himself to watch over his brother until the doctors entered the room. Seven in the morning arrived soon, but it seemed way too long for Yuma. After a checkup and after finding nothing truly wrong, which was surprising, the boys were allowed to go home. While it seemed like a good idea for the doctors and Astral's family, it was a very lucky outcome for Dark Mist because now that he was out of the hospital, Astral's headache had returned with a vengeance, and there was no one to treat it.

When Astral got home, the voice from the camp came back.

'Atral, my blue little flame, I need you again.’

'Who are you. More importantly, where are you?' Astral asked back as his headache got worse.

'Come to the woods my blue little flame. Come to me!’

'No! I will not allow you to use me!' Astral yelled back. Unfortunately, this only made his headache worse.

‘You don't have a choice in the matter Astral. You will come to me,' Dark Mist said sternly to Astral, talking control of his mind with just the wave of his hand. Astral gasped and cried out in pain at the forceful wrenching. 'This is what happens when you refuse to listen to me. Now come to me.’

Unable to refuse, Astral did as he was told and left the house. Yuma, who was planning out some activities for the day, noticed Astral walking into the woods from his bedroom window.

"Oh no, that thing's taken control of Astral again," he muttered under his breath, running out of his house after Astral.

Astral came into a clearing where Dark Mist was waiting for him. Dark Mist smirked upon Astral's arrival. “Come here, my blue little flame." Of course, Astral couldn’t refuse. He stepped closer to Dark Mist and gave no resistance when the dark being gripped his shoulder. Once Dark Mist had a firm grip on Astral, he released him from his control.

The boy gasped slightly. “What happened? Where am I?" Astral asked holding his head, his headache worsening by the minute. Dark Mist smirked wider, feeling a strange yet powerful presence in Astral's mind. Astral looked up to see Dark Mist smirking at him. "I won't let you use me!" Astral yelled, struggling to get out of Dark Mist's grip. 

"I told you, you would be coming to me wether you liked it or not." Dark Mist smirked as he slips his hand on the back of Astral's neck forcing his way into his mind.

"No…" Astral mutters as he losses consciousness again.


	5. Failed Attempt

Yuma got to Astral just as Dark Mist began taking the precious power from him.

"You won't get away with this!" Yuma yelled at Dark Mist. 

"Oh I already have you little brat." He laughed before disappearing, leaving Astral to fall.

Yuma caught him quickly before he could fell. "Hey!" He looked up to see if Dark Mist was still there, but he was gone. He sighed and picked up Astral, taking him back home so he wouldn’t catch a cold.

A couple hours later, Astral woke to found himself in a bed again. "Where am I?" he groaned. It was starting to get annoyed waking up without knowing where he was.

"You're in your room." Yuma replies, much to Astral's relief.

"How'd I get here?"

"I brought you home."

"Astral, are you awake?" Called another voice. It was Mira, his mother. She was a soft-spoken woman with golden orange hair and rudy red eyes. This morning, she wore her pajamas, which consisted of a comfortable shirt with loose pajama pants and slippers. When she left the house, she usually dressed better and more professionally, but never in the comfort of her own home.

"Yes, I'm awake," Astral assured.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, what's up Mom?"

Mira entered the room, wringing her hands. Her eyebrows were knitted with worry. "I was wondering what happened before you passed out again."

Astral didn’t answer for a while, trying to think of what he could remember. Like a dream, the events usually escaped him immediately after awaking, but unlike dreams, he could recall it if he wasn’t in control. "Well, I remember a voice in my mind telling me to come to it. Then, something happened, and I was suddenly there, with the person that called me. Then I have no recollection after that."

"Hmm, that's very unusual." Mira bit her lower lip. She was hoping he would at least remember something, but it seemed like he still couldn’t.

Suddenly Astral's headache started pounding with a vengeance, he hissed in pain.

His mother perked up. "Astral, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just a headache." 

'Astral, I need you to come back to me, my blue little flame.' 

"That voice…" Astral says a bit worried, slightly distracted from his headache for a moment.

"What do you mean sweetheart?" Mira asks him. Astral groaned in pain, as his headache worsened.

'Astral, my blue little flame, I need you.' 

"I… won't let you… use me!" Astral growled through the pain, worrying his mother.

"Astral, who are you talking to?" she pressed.

Unfortunately for the family, Dark Mist could feel that Astral was in pain. It was like the pain tased like a sweet treat to him. He tried to use pain to persuade Astral into leaving their side without taking control. Using that ability too often would cause some pain of his own, after all. 'Astral… I know you're in pain. Why not come to me? I can make it all disappear.'

"I won't let you use me!" Astral yelled, frightening Mira and Yuma.

"Astral what's wrong? Talk to me!" Mira exclaimed. She took hold of his shoulders and tried to get him to respond, but he didn’t even seem to be aware of the current situation with his family.

'I tried to be nice, but you leave me with no choice,' Dark Mist growled disapprovingly, forcefully taking control of Astral's mind with the wave of his hand.

A sharp gasp and groan escaped his lips. He tensed, his face scrunched with pain, and then he relaxed. He stood up and began walking out the door.

"Astral, what's wrong? Where are you going?" Mira asked him.

Astral didn't answer.

"Astral?!" Yuma grabbed his arm, while Mira blocked the doorway.

"I don't know who you are, but I will not allow you to hurt my son," Mira growled defensively.

That’s when Astral looked up at her; Mira gaped at what she saw. Astral's eyes were blank golden orbs that didn't have any life to them. She was shell shocked and didn’t even think about how she was blocking the door.

With Mira distracted, Astral pushed his mother out of the doorway and made his way downstairs. Yuma and Mira shared a shocked glance before running after him.

"Kazuma stop Astral from leaving the house!" Mira yells as she and Yuma follow Astral down the stairs.

Astral was walking past his father, who was currently watching TV on the couch, to make his way to the door. Kazuma, a sporty man with a dark brown crop of hair and nearly-black eyes, immediately saw the way Astral's eyes looked.

"Are you feeling alright Astral?" Kazuma asks him tentatively, but Astral didn't respond. He got up off the couch and graded Astral's arm. There was no way he was letting his son out like that, not when he knew for a fact that something was wrong based on how Yuma described the prior incidences. “No way you’re getting out if this house with the state you’re in!”

"Let go!" Astral demanded just as Yuma and Mira came down the stairs.

"What's happened to you Astral?" Kazuma asks. He desperately hoped that he would respond, but those hopes were quickly dashed.

"Let go!" Astral demanded again, trying to get his arm out of father’s grip.

Outside of the house, Dark Mist bristled in frustration. He couldn't seem to get Astral out of the house and away from his family! He knew that he had Astral under his control for far too long; if he were to get Astral in front of him now, he would just be unconscious upon releasing him. 

"I can't take your power while you’re under my control. I need your normal mind. You win this round Astral, but I'll get you next time," Dark Mist says, releasing Astral from his control, waving his to this side in a upward motion. Astral falls into Kazuma's arms unconscious.


	6. Plotting

Mira looks at Astral worriedly. They’d since taken him to his room, but it had been an hour since he fell unconscious. The entire family was starting to fear the worst. Kari had awoken from her sleep when she heard the screaming; now, she too watched with anticipation.

All of a sudden, Astral started to wake up.

“Astral!” Yuma exclaimed excitedly. “Come on, wake up! Please!”

Astral groaned in pain as he came to. "W-what happened?" he mutters confused as to what happened. He could hardly remember a thing, but he could guess from the intense pounding in his head.

"You seemed to be in a trance. We couldn't snap you out of it," Mira explained.

"I don't remember blacking out," Astral said, holding his head.

"You were also talking to something." Her tone was soft but dark. Yuma looked at his brother worriedly, knowing exactly what happened.

"Yuma, what's with the look?" Mira asks him.

"It's nothing mom." Yuma replies, not wanting to worry his parents. He knew who Astral was talking to, but he feared that if they knew who was trying to get to him, they’d be targeted in some way. While he had no proof of this, he still feared it.

"Alright then," Mira says, but she was not convinced. She let him off the hook anyway. "In any case, you two should keep safe. Astral, stay in bed for now. You need all the rest you can get after your hospital stay.”

Yuma and Astral nod, heading off to their shared room in awkward silence.

"Yuma, could you tell me what happened please?" Astral asks, breaking the silence.

"Well, where do I start?" Yuma murmurs, trying to figure out the best way to explain the situation to his brother. He opens the door and allows Indiora to enter first.

"I remember coming home; that's when my headache came back. I also heard a strange voice in my head telling me to come to it." Astral says.

"Was it him again?"

"I don't know who you're talking about," Astral asks. He gave his brother a confused and desperate look; he needed to know who was after him. All he knew was that there was a voice, and he knew he caught a glimpse of him and heard his name, but those pieces of information were wiped from his memory out of nowhere.

"Never mind." If Astral didn't know, Yuma figured it would be better not to worry him about it.

Astral pursed his lips. 'What is he keeping from me?' Astral thought as they walked into their room.

Yuma fell back into the rhythm of planning out the day’s activities even if he didn’t plan on doing any of them because he’d be watching over Astral, who was seated by the window. As he looked out at the fields below, Astral couldn’t help but think of how lucky he was to have Yuma as his brother.

‘That boy would do anything for me,’ he thought with a smile. ‘Let’s just hope he doesn’t do anything rash.’

Unfortunately for the both of them, there was a certain Number watching them from the shadows of their own shrubbery.


	7. Memory Dream

Dark Mist watched through the window as Astral and Yuma slept, debating whether or not to go after his little blue flame. 

'What should I do? ' Dark Mist thought to himself as he kept an eye on Astral. 'Should I wait until tonight to take it, or could I...' 

A sudden nagging thought came to him. Every time he paid Astral a visit, he never seemed to remember who or what he was. Based on his eavesdropping, the only thing he seemed to remember was that there was a presence and a voice. However, a plan started to formulate, delightfully cruel and bound to make him laugh. 

'Now that should be fun.' Dark Mist smirked to himself. He settled into the bushes until nightfall, sleeping through the day so he could have the energy to perform his little torture.

That night, Dark Mist silently slipped through the window that led right in the boys’ shared room. Inside, they were blissfully asleep, sharing the same bed as though that would prevent Dark Mist from taking what he wanted. Tonight, though, he was in a giving mood for once. He silently floated over to Astral and placed both of his hands on Astral's temples. 

'This should help you remember who I am and scare you at the same time.' Dark Mist smirked at the thought of Astral waking up in a cold sweet, scared out of his mind. Dark Mist stood completely still as he tapped into Astral's subconscious mind, creating a dream in which Astral could remember who he was. 

*Astral's Dream*

Astral was back at the camp grounds, but this time, there was no one there. Tents where pitched and equipment was out ready to be used, but no one was around to sleep in the tents or use the equipment. Astral looked around nervously. He didn't see anyone. He walked into the woods, looking for anyone he knew. When he came to the clearing, he thought he saw someone moving in the shadows.

Suddenly, the sky darkened, and the full moon glowed overhead. A dark shadowy figure came into view.

"Who's there?" Astral called out, getting a little worried with the sudden change of lighting. 

"There's no need to be afraid, my blue little flame," the figure said as he comes into the moonlight.

"Who are you? What are you?" Astral asks as he saw the figure a little more clearly now, and it seemed as familiar as it was strange to him. 

"I am Number 96: Dark Mist, or Dark Mist for short if you prefer. I am what you would call, a Number." The figure smirks.

Astral backed away in fear. Memories flashed before his eyes. "You... I remember you now! You're the one causing all of my problems! And this-" Astral looked around. "And this is where it started!" Dark Mist smirks in response.

"Get away from my brother!" Yuma yells out.

"Yuma? No, you shouldn't be here!" Astral yells at his brother.

"I'm not leaving you here with that thing!" Yuma exclaimed in defiance, standing his ground against Dark Mist.

"Yuma, please! I don't want you to get hurt!"

"I told you! I'm not leaving you here!" Yuma yells. Dark Mist laughs at the sight of the brothers arguing. This brought Astral's attention back to the Number.

"What are you laughing at?" he challenged.

“You'll see," Dark Mist purrs in delight.

"Why don't you leave us alone? You've already caused us enough trouble!" Yuma growls. 

"I can't leave, not without Astral's power." Dark Mist seemed to slither closer to them.

Yuma stepped protectively in front of his brother, and Astral prepared to put up a struggle. Then, Dark Mist disappeared out of Yuma and Astral's sight.

“Where'd he go?" Yuma gasped while Astral looked around to see if he could find Dark Mist. The amused Number wanted to laugh, but he remained silent so he could scare his little blue flame.

"Looking for someone?" Dark Mist smiles as Astral whips around to catch sight of him. Before he could react, Dark Mist grabs him and slips into his unprotected mind.

*In The Real World*

Dark Mist tapped out of Astral's mind when he senses that Astral was going to wake up. Dark Mist hides in the shadows, well out of Astral's sight. He kept watch to gleefully see how his little experiment worked out.

Astral bolts upright in a cold sweet, breathing heavily. His eyes darted around the room in a panic, trying to see if Dark Mist was anywhere near him, but all he saw was the light of the moonlight coming through his window. Yuma was still sound asleep, snoring away as usual. Breathing a shaky sigh, Astral got up out of his bed and tip-toed to the window, looking outside to see if Dark Mist was out there. However, all the peaceful and calm. He looked up at the full moon, wondering what the nightmare meant.

'What did that nightmare mean, and why does Dark Mist think I have power? None of this makes any sense right now. I just want my normal life back,' Astral miserably thought to himself while looking at the full moon.

Dark Mist smiles evilly as he leaves the house through a crack in the wall, going back into the shadowy woods to continue watching Astral. 'Your power will be mine, just you wait and see Astral.’


	8. Dark Mist's Gift

The next morning, Astral woke to the smell of pancakes. He looked over to see that Yuma had seemingly already made his way downstairs. Despite the nightmare he had last night, Astral couldn’t help but laugh at the mental image of Yuma excitedly racing downstairs for breakfast. He got out of bed and walked down the stairs and comes into the kitchen to see Yuma and his father sitting at the table while his mother made breakfast.

"You're up a little early, aren't you Yuma?" Astral teased as he sat down at the table.

"And you slept in for once," Yuma tossed back with smile.

“I know, and usually I'm the one who's up early." Astral smiles back; his brother had one of the most contagious smiles, and he could brighten up anyone with just a glance. Then, his smile faded a bit as the thought about the nightmare came back. What did it mean?

Mira interrupted his thoughts with the smell of pancakes announcing her presence. She set a stack on a plate in the middle of the table, looking around to see someone was missing. "Where's Kari?"

"I don't know, maybe she's in the bathroom doing her hair." Yuma said while Astral remained unusually silent. Yuma looked over to his brother with a furrowed brow. "Um, are you alright Astral?"

Astral gave him no answer. He hadn’t even started eating. In an attempt to annoy him, Yuma began poking and prodding him until he jumped and waved his hand to try and swat Yuma's hand away.

"What is it, Yuma?" Astral asks after finally turning his attention away from his thoughts.

"Are you feeling okay?" Yuma asks with worry clear in his voice.

"Um yeah, I'm fine. I'm just not used to sleeping in." Astral could tell his brother didn’t really believe that excuse, but he didn’t seem to want to press further. His appetite diminished, Indiora stood up and nudged his plate to the side. "I'm going for a walk."

"I'll come with you." Yuma didn't want Astral walking around by himself, especially not knowing where Dark Mist was and when he would strike again.

“What about your breakfast?" Mira asks.

"I'm not hungry," Astral replies. Mira and Yuma frowned, but neither said anything.

Astral got up from the table and made his way to the door, still thinking about the nightmare from the night before. He noticed Yuma scrambling to follow, but he didn’t really pay attention. 'What did that dream mean, and why does Dark Mist think I have some kind of hidden power?' Astral thought to himself while walking into the woods.

"Astral, where are we going...?" Yuma asks, but Astral didn't hear his brother, once again lost in his own thoughts. Yuma grabbed Astral by the shoulders and forced him to turn around; he started shaking him firmly but not too hard. "Astral!" he shouted.

"W-What wrong Yuma?" Astral stammered, a little surprised and confused at what Yuma did.

“You're ignoring me! This is the second time today." Yuma's grip relaxed slightly and his voice calmed down.

"I'm not ignoring you Yuma. Well... not on purpose," Astral says, slightly looking away from his brother.

"Then why don't you tell me what's on your mind? Maybe at least then I could try to help you."

"I don't know..."

"How can you not know Astral? It's your mind."

"I'm not sure if I should tell you. I don't really understand what I'm thinking about," Astral replies with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Well if you don't tell me then I will keep bothering you, and I can't help you understand either unless you tell me!"

Astral sighed. "If I tell you, do you promise not to tell mom and dad?"

"I Promise."

"Aright." Astral said and took a deep breath. "Last night I had a nightmare that we were back at the camp grounds, were all of this first started."

As he was telling his story, some dark fog formed behind them and out of sight of the two boys. Dark Mist grins as he hears Astral tell his brother about the nightmare. He notices Yuma's eyes flickering toward the tree he was hiding behind; panic swelled in his chest, but he simply shrank back to keep from being seen. Relief filled him when Yuma looked straight back at Astral.

"Do you know why?" Yuma asks. He gave no sign that he noticed flickering movement in the corner of his eye. It could have been a figment of his imagination.

"No, I don't,” Astral replies. “The only thing that was useful to me in the nightmare was who Dark Mist is.” A sudden chill ran down his spine. Were they being watched?

Suddenly, it didn’t feel safe. "Yuma, we need to leave this place quickly,” he whispered urgently.

"Why, what's wrong with this place?" Yuma asks in confusion.

"I'll tell you later. Right now, we need to leave this area." Astral grabs Yuma's wrist and starts dragging him away from where he knew Dark Mist was hiding. However, the Number had no desire to let his target get away until he gave him his "gift."

Dark Mist moves among the leaves in the trees, making sure to stay out of sight. He snuck along the foliage until he was near the two boys.

"What's the rush my little blue flame?" Dark Mist purrs as he comes out from behind a tree.

Astral stops dead in his tracks. "W-what are you doing here?" Astral whispers hoarsely. 

"Oh, it's nothing special. I'm just here to give you a little something." Dark Mist grins mysteriously.

"Stay away from Astral!" Yuma demands, but Dark Mist didn't pay any attention to him. His gaze was fixed on Astral.

Even though Astral knew it couldn’t be anything good, his natural curiosity got the better of him. "What is this gift of yours Dark Mist?"

"You'll find out, if you let me give it to you."

"You stay out of my mind," Astral growls defensively. 

Dark Mist frowns sadly. His eyes seemed to moisten, but it was clear he was faking the sadness. "Then how can I give my gift to you?” He couldn’t keep his façade up and burst out in a fit of giggles.

"Simple. You won't give it to him!" Yuma spat as he pulls his brother in the opposite direction.

Frustration brewed in the Number’s chest. There was no way he was letting his prize escape! "You're not going anywhere my little blue flame!" Dark Mist shouts. He shot out a smoky tendril right at Astral. It quickly solidified with an iron grip as soon as it found its mark.

"Let me go! Stay out of my mind!" Astral cries out in a panic. He struggles and yanks his arm in an attempt to release himself, but it felt like he was going to tear his arm off if he pulled any harder. 

"I'll leave after I give you my little gift," Dark Mist purrs happily; it seemed as though his mood brightened like the flick of a switch. He taps into Astral's mind like he’s done so many times before. He could feel his little blue flame’s struggles start to cease slowly; this made his grin widen.

"Astral, no!" Yuma cries when Astral stopped struggling. He tried desperately to wake him up, and he even tried to talk him through fighting the control, but his dear brother didn’t wake up.

After a few minutes, Dark Mist taps out of Astral's mind with a smirk. He’d delivered what he wanted at last. He took great delight in watching Astral, who was once again awake, but pressing his eyes shut in pain. He knew what kind of headache was plaguing him now.

"Astral!" Yuma exclaims. He turns his anger to Dark Mist, who was grinning like a fool at the sight. "What did you do to him?!" 

"I just gave Astral my little gift, that's all," Dark Mist replies innocently.

"And what was your little gift?" Yuma demands, but a groan caught his attention. He turns back to Astral and gently touches his shoulder. "Astral what did Dark Mist do to you?" 

"Just be lucky that I didn't make him unconscious like I usually do," Dark Mist giggles before disappearing into the woods.

With Dark Mist gone, Yuma turned his attention fully to his brother. "Astral please, say something!" He pleased.

Astral couldn't say a word, for he was in too much pain to speak. Shortly thereafter, he passed out from the pain. Yuma settled beside him, unsure what to do. He was torn between attempting to carry him back home, running back home get some help, or just staying there until Astral wakes up again.


	9. Set Into Motion

"Astral, Astral! Come on, you gotta get up! Astral!" Yuma cries as he shakes Astral, but he didn't respond. 'I have to get Astral some kind of help.' Yuma thinks to himself.

But was it okay to leave Astral like this? Yuma couldn’t carry him and run all the way home at the same time; they’d walked a fair distance away from home. At the same time, he didn’t want to leave him out in the open. What if Dark Mist took advantage of Astral just laying out there and decided to take him after all? What if Astral got sick from sleeping outside?

No. There was no time to debate. Yuma quickly hid Astral. “I’ll come back for you. I promise,” he whispers quickly. Then he took off, sprinting back home.

"Mom! Dad! Help!” he cries as soon as he bursts through the door.

Kazuma thundered into the room, wondering why his son was shouting. Mira and Kari were right behind him. "What’s wrong? Is someone hurt!?” Kazuma asks in a panic.

"It's Astral! He passed out again!" Yuma cries.

"Where is he?" Mira asks with worry.

"He's in the woods!” Yuma drags his mother and father by the hands.

“Kari, take care of your grandmother!” Mira calls before they are dragged out the door. 

Within less than half an hour, the trio made it to the place where Yuma hid Astral. By then, he was starting to wake up.

Kazuma knelt down to support Astral as he woke up. "Astral," he calls softly.

"Huh...?" Astral mutters. Still half asleep, his head lolled to the side slightly.

"Are you alright son?”

"I-I think so." Astral starts massaging his temples in an attempt to ease the pain.

"Astral!!” Yuma exclaims. He squeezes his brother in a hug. “I'm so glad you're awake!"

A stabbing pain shot through his head at the sudden affection, but he didn’t complain. Yuma must have been very worried after all. However, a thought wouldn’t stop circulating through his mind. 'What did Dark Mist do to me, and what did he leave behind?' He shook it off and smiles reassuringly to his brother. "I'll be fine Yuma."

"Are you alright sweetheart?" Mira asks.

"I'm just feeling a little dizzy," Astral replies. His vision blurs for a moment; the headache was getting worse. Astral groans and holds his head in pain.

"Astral, what's wrong?" Yuma releases his brother. “Did I hurt you?”

"No, no, not at all. It's just a headache." It was the mother of all headaches, but Astral wasn’t about to say that. He didn’t want to worry anyone any more than they already were.

"Come on, let's get you home." Kazuma gently picks up Astral, and everyone stands up to go home.

Yuma opens the door once they were home so Kazuma could take Astral up to his room to rest.

"There, you should probably rest for a while." Yuma says once Kazuma set him down in bed.

However, Astral had a bad feeling about resting. 'What is Dark Mist planning, and what did he do to me?' Somehow, he didn’t think going to sleep would be a good idea.

Yuma sat beside his brother, snapping him out of his thoughts. He looks at Astral softly. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

“I don't want to talk about it Yuma," Astral says. He didn’t meet his brother’s eyes. He knew that if he did, he’d probably cave and tell him everything.

"Alright, if you don't want to tell me, that's up to you. I was just trying to help." Yuma stands up to go downstairs.

"Yuma... wait," Astral calls out, stopping Yuma in his tracks.

"Yes?" Yuma turns to face his brother.

"W-will you stay with me, until I fall asleep?" Astral asks shyly.

Yuma smiles and nods. "Of course." He sit back down beside his brother and holds Astral's hand to comfort him. "Astral, what did Dark Mist do to you?" He hoped Astral would at least tell him this.

"What do you mean, Yuma?"

"Well, you know how Dark Mist said that he gave you a ‘little present’?"

"Yes..."

"I was wondering if you knew what it was."

"I'd rather not talk about it,” Astral mutters reluctantly. However, something in the back of his mind told him that it was best if at least someone else knew. If worse came to worst, at least Yuma would know what was going on, right?

"Are you sure?" Yuma's concern was clear as day. Perhaps it was a good idea to tell him.

"The truth is... he left something behind.... in my head. But I don't know what it is or how to get it out," Astral confesses, tightening his grip on Yuma's hand.

Yuma felt shock run down his spine. "Do you know what this so called ‘gift’ of his will do?"

"No, not a clue."

"There's nothing we can really do right now, is there?"

"No, not at the moment." Astral sighed then a yawn escaped him.

"You should rest. We'll see how you feel tomorrow morning, alright?" Yuma suggests.

Astral nods and closes his eyes to rest.


	10. Reoccurring Nightmares

Astral closes his eyes to rest. Well, that was what Yuma thought. As soon as he could hear the steady breathing that signaled sleep, he left the room so he wouldn't disturb Astral. He took one last glance at his brother’s sleeping form, then he shut the door behind him and tip-toed downstairs. Once Astral heard the door close behind his brother, he sat up in bed and looked around the room; all was peaceful and calm. He thew off the covers and made his way to the window, wondering anxiously what Dark Mist intended to do with him.

'What did Dark Mist do to me, and what does he hope to gain from this?' Astral wonders to himself while looking at the glowing sun. Astral's headache only got worse, begging him to sleep, but something in the back of his mind told him not to. He starts to focus on not sleeping, soon becoming lost in thought. He didn't realize that Yuma had come back to check on him.

"Astral, what are you still doing up?" Yuma asks, surprised to see his brother out of bed.

Astral jumps at the sound of Yuma's voice, and turns to face him. "I- um, I couldn't sleep..." His face flushed with embarrassment of being found out. He just hoped Yuma wouldn’t take notice.

Unfortunately, Yuma did. "I can tell you're lying," Yuma scolds sternly.

"Alright so it's not that I couldn't sleep, it's just that I don't want to!" Astral snaps back. He turns away from Yuma, looking back at the sky. The brightness only worsened his headache, but if it kept him from sleeping, he could bear with it.

"Astral you have to sleep, you're going to get sick if you don't," Yuma says, trying not to raise his voice as well.

"I know, but what if I have another nightmare?" Astral complains softly.

"You don't know that. Please, just try to rest," Yuma pleaded. He gave Astral large pleading eyes, ones he knew his brother could never say “no” to.

Unfortunately, it didn’t work this time. "No Yuma," Astral replies stubbornly.

Yuma sighs. Obviously, that trick wasn’t going to work, so he grabs Astral by the wrist and gently led him to a mirror. “Look in the mirror Astral," Yuma urges. “Look in the mirror and tell me you don’t need rest.”

Astral rolls his eyes at his brother, but looks into the mirror. What he see somewhat scares him. His eyes were bloodshot and his skin was ashen. Was this the result of one nagging headache? No, it could only be the fact that Dark Mist was draining whatever he wanted from him whenever he wanted.

As much as the sight scared him, though, he still refuses to sleep. "I don't care how I look Yuma, I refuse to sleep," Astral argues, crossing his arms stubbornly.

"Astral please, don't do this. You have to sleep; I don't want you to end up back in the hospital again!" Worry was clear in Yuma's voice. He took Astral's hands in his own and silently begs him with his eyes.

Astral sighs, his expression softening. "Alright fine, you win Yuma. I'll sleep, but only for an hour or two." He allows his brother to lead him back to bed and cover him with a blanket.

"I'll make sure you sleep longer than that Astral,” Yuma replies as he turns out the lights and closes the drapes.

Astral tosses and turns as he tries to sleep while Yuma keeps a watchful eye over him. It took a few minutes, but Astral eventually fell asleep. His breathing was slow and steady, but Yuma made sure to be certain Astral was really asleep before heading downstairs to tell his parents his brother was resting. He softly made his way out of the room, partially shutting the door. Even though he wanted to remain with his brother to make sure nothing happened, he knew his family was just as worried as he was about Astral's health.

Mira stops pacing as soon as she saw Yuma at the top of the stairs? "How's Astral?” she asked.

"He's alright mom," Yuma replies with a soft smile. "I'm going to keep him company.”

"After what happened today, I think that’s what’s best,” Kazuma says.

Yuma gives his parents a thumbs up and scampers back to his room. Peeking into the room, he breathed a sigh of relief to find Astral still asleep. He walks to his brother’s bed, sitting beside him, and takes his hand into his own. Yuma remains with Astral until night fell.

Out in the woods, hidden from view, Dark Mist lays in wait. He looks up to the sky to see the moon overhead and smiles to himself. 

"Now is the perfect time to activate my little present," Dark Mist giggles to himself. He relaxes his mind, focusing on turning on his present, using the moon as a point of focus. After a few minutes, he snapped back to attention. His left eye shined a crimson red, before returning back to its gold color. "Let the fun and the nightmares begin!" He smiles wickedly.

Astral loosened his grip on Yuma's hand. Mildly panicked, Yuma turns his attention back to his brother, thinking that Astral had woken up; he breathed a quiet sigh of relief when he saw Astral turn on his side, still sound asleep. While sleeping this much was certainly odd for Astral, Yuma chalked it up to simply being tired from Dark Mist harassing him constantly. After an hour of keeping watch, Yuma deemed it safe to go to sleep, so he tip-toed back to his bed and did just that.

*In Astral's Dream*

Astral was slowly waking up in a destroyed abandoned building. He looked around curiously, taking note of the large piles of rubble strewn every which way. They seemed like perfect hiding places, though he didn’t know what he would hide from and why. The ceiling was patched with holes that rained pebbles of rubble every so often. Thin rays of weak moonlight passed through them, but they did little to light his surroundings.

"Where am I?" he wonders aloud when his vision fully clears. He tries to stand, but pain rips through his right arm. Astral groans in pain, clutching his arm tightly where he felt the pain. His arm came away bloody, much to his surprise. Somehow Astral had been shot, but how and by whom he did not know. Astral held his arm, trying to ignore the pain he feels. He slowly gets to his feet and calls out, "Hello, is anyone here?"

Small pebbles start tumbling down from the large rubble piles. Several figures crawl right out and start stumbling toward him. The strange people had blood spilling from their eyes and mouths, their teeth were sharp, their eyes glow with hunger, and their hands looked more like claws.

‘Are these people infected with some kind of virus?' Astral asks himself. He didn’t have time to dwell on it though, because they were starting to stumble and crawl closer.

He starts to back away the closer they inched. As he was backing away, his foot caught on a stray rusted pipe, making it clatter as it rolls among the rubble. The noise was enough to send the infected into a hunger frenzy.

Astral sprints out of one of the many holes in the building’s walls, making sure to steer clear of any infected people, if they could even be called that. Miraculously, he made it out without a scratch, but his arm was aching and pulsing with burning pain. Ignoring the pain, he heads straight into the woods, just barely able to lose the creatures, which was what he decided they were.

Out of breath, Astral looks for a safe place to hide. In the distance, a decently sized shed could be seen. He looks around for any signs of the creatures from earlier. Luckily, all is clear. Astral slowly approaches the shed and opens the door, coughing from the dust that billowed out. He goes in and finds a working flashlight on the ground in front of him, which he uses to light his surroundings, though he didn’t pay much attention to them. He made his way to the back of the shed and is surprised by who he finds.

Astral could see the figure of a person in the shadows. As he approaches the figure, the more detail he could see. The figure takes on the shape of his dear brother Yuma, but Astral couldn’t be completely sure that it was him unless he calls out to it.

"Yuma... Yuma is that you?" Astral calls out tentatively.

"Yes my dear brother, it’s me," the figure says, sounding exactly like Yuma.

Astral inches his way closer, relieved that his brother is okay. Well, that was what he thought until the figure pulls on a thin chain rope to turn a light on. With the light on, Astral could clearly see that the figure is indeed Yuma. He was facing away from Astral, silent and unresponsive.

“Um, Yuma?” Astral calls. He could feel something was wrong, but he didn’t know what. Worried, he inches closer and places a hand on his brother’s shoulder.

Yuma turns around to face his dear brother. Astral lets out a cry of shock and fear upon seeing him. Yuma's eyes were a deep crimson red and bleeding, and his teeth and fingernails were sharp and silver in color.

"No..." Astral whispers hoarsely.

Yuma takes a step towards Astral; Astral takes a step back. He planned to turn and run, but he heard the door slam behind him. He shudderes, sure that there was no way out. Astral's head whips around to see Tori, their childhood friend. Unfortunately, she was just like Yuma, infected with some sort of virus.

They both gazed at Astral with hungry looks and prepared to pounce on him.

*In the Real World*

"Astral! Astral! Wake up! Astral!" Yuma yells as he takes Astral, trying to wake him. Unfortunately, he didn’t respond well. All he did was whimper and scream.

Mira and Kazuma burst through the door upon hearing Astral scream. Mira rushed over to Astral's side and held him in her arms. Astral shrieks awake and holds his mother tightly as if he would lose her if he didn't, sobbing uncontrollably. The family hoped that the nightmare was just a one-time thing, but sadly it wasn't. Every time he went to sleep he would have the same nightmare, and it only increased in intensity.

Five weeks passed by since the nightmares have started; Astral had gotten very little sleep. Mira and Kazuma were talking to all different types of doctors over the phone and in person to try and see if they could find a cure for this, but nothing the doctors prescribed ever worked.

Each time Astral had the nightmare, he made the same mistakes, walking into the shed and approaching the seemingly-fine Yuma. However, one thing stood out to him. Each time he was cornered by Yuma and Tori, Dark Mist would come to save him in different ways, either by killing the two infected or removing Astral from the situation somehow. Astral tried to figure out why it was Dark Mist of all people who kept saving him. Unfortunately, he couldn't find an answer as to why it was him.

One sleepless night, Astral looks out the window as night begins to take hold of the sky; the moon took its place among the stars.

'Here we go again, another sleepless night.’ Astral thought to himself. He rubs his eyes tiredly; over the past few weeks, he’d developed dark rings under them from a lack of sleep.

Yuma watches his brother worriedly as he looks out the window. 'What could be causing Astral to have these nightmares?' Yuma asks himself. That's when the answer hit him. "Dark Mist's gift," Yuma whispers.

He walks over to his brother and puts a hand on his shoulder gently. "How are you feeling?" he asks.

"Awful," Astral grumbles, not looking away from the moon.

"Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?"

Astral looks away from the moon's soft glow to look at Yuma and asks, "Yuma, why can't I sleep?"

Yuma wants to tell him that he doesn’t know, but upon seeing the dark black circles under his eyes, he couldn't bring himself to lie. "Astral," he begins, "You can't sleep because of Dark Mist.” He hesitates to ask this next question, but he know that he has to. “Um, do you remember what he did to you?"

Astral yawns and rubs his eyes. "Kind of, why?"

"Whatever his little gift is, it might be causing you to have these nightmares."

The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. "Now it all makes sense," Astral gasps. He turns his gaze back to the moon.

"What makes sense now?" Yuma was confused as to what Astral was getting at.

"In my nightmares, Dark Mist was always the one to save me."

"So what does that mean?"

Astral turns back to look at Yuma for a moment, only quick enough to reply. "It means he's the only one who can stop the nightmares, but you and I both know what he wants in return for stopping them." He turns his gaze back to the moon.

"Yeah, that power he claims you have." Yuma doesn’t really like this idea, but they don’t have any other options.

"We have no choice Yuma, we have to go into the woods and find him," Astral says, shifting his gaze from the moon to the woods.


	11. Getting Relief

Another day went by, as did another sleepless night for Astral. He and Yuma made a plan to sneak out of the house when everyone was asleep to look for the evil Number who kept torturing Astral through his dreams. Yuma was planning on going with Astral, but Astral was apprehensive about letting his brother come along. However, after much convincing from Yuma, Astral agreed to let him come.

That evening, before they left the house, they made an agreement with each other to take a three hour nap. Yuma wanted Asttal to get as much sleep as possible before leaving, but he knew that Astral would only be able to get three hours of sleep before the nightmares would come. They settled into bed to sleep with a timer set to three hours. They’d be pulled away from deep sleep, but anything was fine so long as they both got as much rest as possible. Once three hours passed, Yuma and Astral slip silently out of the house and made their way into the woods with flashlights that they found in their closet. As they enter the woods, a dark ominous mist begins to creep into the air. 

Dark Mist could sense Yuma and Astral's presence as they came into the woods. He watches them for a little while, amused by their wandering, before revealing himself to them to see what they wanted. Yuma and Astral could barely see through the mist as a voice rang out to them. 

"Well, if it isn't my blue little flame," Dark Mist purrs, snatching their attention. He watches calmly as Astral steps protectively in front of Yuma even though he was clearly fatigued. 'I can sense it. The power is suppressing itself,' Dark Mist thought to himself with a smirk.

"What have you done to me?" Astral asks, snapping Dark Mist out of his own thoughts.

Dark Mist smiles deceitfully sweetly. "I just gave you a little gift, that's all." 

"I don't want it. Take it back," Astral demands. Despite the three-hour nap, he still felt tired. 

"If you want it removed, you're going to have to give me what I want first." 

"Not a chance Dark Mist!" Yuma shouts as he came and stands beside his brother. 

Dark Mist shrugs innocently. "Then Astral will just have to suffer." 

“Yuma, we have no other choice," Astral sighs.

"But he wants this to happen Astral, we can't listen to him!" Yuma protests.

"If we don't let him have what he wants, I'll never get any sleep. Besides, we knew this was what he wanted, didn’t we?" Astral's vision starts waver. He blinks heavily to try and straighten it, but it didn’t work.

"Astral, are you feeling alright?" Yuma takes Astral's arm to support him, afraid that he would faint before they could talk to Dark Mist successfully.

"I'm fine Yuma, I'm just a little dizzy."

"He can't last much longer Yuma, his body will give in to fatigue," Dark Mist teases. His infuriatingly sweet smile lingered on his lips, though his eyes held something malicious.

"He's right Yuma, I can't last much longer,” Astral complains.

"If we are going to do this we had better do it before Astral collapses." 

"Fine," Yuma says hesitantly. He helps Astral to stand and walk to Dark Mist. 

"I knew you would see things my way."

"Just hurry up and get this over with Dark Mist," Astral groans.

"Is this going to hurt Astral?" Yuma asks.

"It will a little, but I'll have to wait a few days to get what I want from him." 

"I won't let you hurt Astral," Yuma challenges.

"If I don't get my end of the deal, Astral will suffer more than just nightmares," Dark Mist threatens. “Is that what you want?”

"Please Yuma, just let Dark Mist do what he wants," Astral says, fearing for his brother's safety. He turns to Dark Mist and begs, "Please, take it out."

"As you wish, but I expect you to come when called," Dark Mist scolds.

"I will come when you call," Astral promises.

Satisfied, Dark Mist took Astral into his arms and touches the back of his neck and tapped into his mind. Astral let out a whimper of pain as Dark Mist took the object out.

Yuma peeks at whatever Dark Mist takes out and see a small oval looking shaped chip with a blinking red light. "What’s that?" Yuma whispers to himself.

Dark Mist heard Yuma's question and smiles evilly at him. "This is an inhibitor that gave me control over Astral's subconscious mind. I could've used it for someone else, though." It was clear he could have used it on Yuma instead of Astral.

Suddenly, Astral passes out and tumbles from Dark Mist's arms, landing safely into the arms of his brother. "Astral!" Yuma exclaims as he catches him. "What happened to him?”

"I merely did what he asked and took out the inhibitor that was causing the nightmares. He just passed out from fatigue. His body couldn't tolerate the lack of sleep anymore when I removed it." Dark Mist chuckles and slowly backs up into the tress. "Remember what I said. If he doesn't come when I call him, he will suffer." He disappears into the darkness of the woods, leaving Yuma behind with an unconscious Astral.

Yuma glares at the spot where Dark Mist was standing just moments ago. Then looks at his brother, who laid safely in his arms. "Now how am I going to get you back home without waking anyone up?" Yuma asks no one in particular.

"Yuma..." Astral calls weakly to get Yuma's attention.

Yuma jumps, not expecting him to wake up so soon. "Astral, are you alright?" he asks worriedly.

“I can't sense it anymore." Astral smiles tiredly. "It's gone."

“Well at least Dark Mist kept his end of the deal," Yuma sighs.

"All that's left to do now is give him what he wants."

"And there's no way of getting out of it either," Yuma replies sadly.

"I'll be okay Yuma, I promise," Astral reassures before passing out again.

"Astral!" Yuma worriedly shakes Astral, trying to wake him, but Astral doesn’t respond. 'Don't worry Astral, I'll find a way to keep Dark Mist away from you one way, or another,' Yuma thinks to himself, as he carries Astral home.

Yuma finally got home with Astral at around 3am, he was careful not to wake anyone when he opens the door. He places Astral on the couch then shuts the door quietly. He then carries his brother up to their shared room and lays him down on the bed gently, covering him with a blanket.

Yuma sighs and looks at Astral. He was pale with dark bags under his eyes, but he was happy that Astral was finally able to get some sleep. He made his way to his bed and fell asleep to the sound of his brother's soft breaths.


	12. The Unwanted Visitor

Yuma wakes up the next morning to see his brother sleeping soundly. He smiles as he watches Astral's chest rise and fall in a slow and steady rhythm. Leaving his brother to sleep, he heads down stairs to the kitchen.

"Good morning Yuma," his mother greets him with a smile.

"Morning mom," Yuma replies, smiling back.

"How did you sleep?"

"Pretty well, actually." Yuma says despite the small bags under his eyes from staying up so late last night.

"Where's your brother?" Mira asks, noticing that Astral isn’t with Yuma.

"He's upstairs, sleeping." Yuma smiles.

"Really?" Mira looks surprised at Yuma. "He hasn't woken up because of a nightmare?"

"No." Yuma says, trying to keep up the happy look. "I think he'll be feeling better now."

"Alright. When he wakes up, let your me and your father know." Mira smiles brightly, leaving the kitchen to tell Kazuma the news.

"Alright mom." Yuma looks around the kitchen cabinets to find some plates for the pancakes.

Before visiting Kazuma, Mira walks up the stairs to her son's room to see his brother. She was so happy to see Astral sleeping soundly. "Sleep well my son," She whispers and kissed Astral on the head. Astral just shifted in sleeping position but didn't wake up. Mira leaves and shuts the door quietly. She makes her way to her own room, where Kazuma was just waking up.

"Oh, good morning dear." Kazuma smiles with bleary eyes from just waking up.

"I have good news." Mira smiles at him and settled on the side of the bed.

"What is it?"

"Astral is sleeping without being woken up by nightmares. I just wish I knew what started them in the first place," Mira replies.

"So do I, but maybe now Astral can finally sleep through the night without being bothered by nightmares," Kazuma says.

Mira smiles and lays beside him. She knew he liked to stay in bed for a while longer before heading downstairs to eat, so she kept him company.

Meanwhile, after eating the delicious pancakes his mother prepared, Yuma went back up to his room to check up on Astral. Unfortunately, he was greeted by an unwanted guest.

"What do you think you're doing here?" Yuma growls at Dark Mist. He tries not to yell so he doesn’t alarm his parents. 

"I just thought that I would check up on the two of you." Dark Mist smirks at Yuma.

"Get out, and leave my brother alone." Yuma glares at him. "You told us to come to you, not the other way around." 

"True, but I never said that I wouldn't come check up on you two."

"Exactly, you never said that you would. So that means you wouldn't, or at least you shouldn't." Yuma nearly confused himself trying to find the right words.

Dark Mist pays no mind to Yuma, focusing his attention on Astral. He could sense something off with him, but he couldn't tell what it was. He put his hand on Astral's head to see if he could sense what was wrong with him.

"Now what are you doing?" Yuma sounds more concerned than irritated this time. 

"Looks like I'll have to wait longer than expected,” Dark Mist reports, taking his hand off of Astral's head.

"What did you do to him?" Yuma asks, his concern grew stronger than before. 

"Nothing. Your brother's just in a coma," Dark Mist says, glancing over at Yuma.

"That's a little more than nothing, Dark Mist! He wouldn't have this much trouble if it wasn't for you showing up!" Yuma glares at Dark Mist for a moment, then turns to look at Astral being more concerned for him.

"It makes no difference to me. He'll wake up in about three to four weeks, five at the latest."

"WEEKS!?" This time Yuma couldn't help himself from shouting.

"Is everything okay up there Yuma?" Kazuma calls from downstairs.

"Y-yes, everything's fine!" Yuma calls back quickly.

Dark Mist smiles an amused and evil smirk at Yuma as he says, "Until he awakens, Yuma." Then he disappears without a trace.

"Get back here!" Yuma growls at him as he disappears.

*In Another Dimension*

A man in warrior armor sits on a blue gold throne with a woman in a white dress with blue designs sitting beside him. Another person walks in and bows to show respect.

"You summoned me your highness?"

"Yes. As you know it has been five long years since the war and five long years since my son was sent away," The King says, staring expressionlessly at the person bowing before him.

Then, the newcomer stands to face their King. "Yes my lord, I am very well aware of this."

"We have summoned you here to retrieve our son; we sent him to the Human World just before the war started," the Queen says.

"I shall retrieve the prince at all costs and I won't return until I do,” the newcomer assures before bowing again and leaving the room to carry out their mission.


	13. The Pearl in The Shadows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter that I have for this story, but the story is far from done. If anyone would like to put there 2 cense in on what should happen next then I'm all ears for it

A female figure appears across the street from the New Springs Orphanage. She has long light midnight blue hair, pearly pink eyes, and fair skin. She wearing light blue triangle earrings, an amethyst purple dress, and gold-tinted amethyst ballet shoes. She looks around, seeing who else around her before heading into the orphanage.

She walks into the orphanage; a middle aged but sweet nun was there taking care of the kids. Assuming the nun was in charge, the woman approaches her.

“Can I help you dear?" the nun asks when she notices the woman, straightening from tending to the orphans.

"I am looking for a boy, he has golden eyes, blue hair and pale skin. He should be a teenager now," the woman replies. She made sure she seemed as non-threatening as possible for ideal compliance.

“What is your relation to the boy?” the nun asks, wanting to make sure that the boy was not going to be in harm’s way.

"I’m a family friend of his birth parents."

“Well he has been adopted quite some time ago by a young couple.”

"Might I please know where they are? His birth parents would like to meet him.”

The nun steps into the back room to look up the records. “He was adopted by the Tsukumo family. Now, I don’t know if they still live at this address, but it’s worth it to go and see.” The nun hands the records to the young woman.

"Thank you miss," she says, looking at the records. They showed that the Tsukumo family lived not too far from the orphanage, which was lucky for her. She pulls out a piece of paper and a pencil from a hidden pocket of her dress and scribbles down the address; then, she gives the records back to the nun. Thanking her again, she turns and leaves.

*Tsukumo household*

Yuma is watching over his brother, who hasn’t woken up at all. Every now and then, Astral would shift in his sleep, but he wouldn’t wake up.

'I hope Dark Mist was wrong… Astral can’t be in a coma,’ Yums thinks to himself.

Astrak seems perfectly calm in his sleep and his breathing was slow and even. Yums waits anxiously for his brother to wake up, hoping and praying that he would wake up sooner than Dark Mist predicted just to prove him wrong.

Downstairs, Mira was cleaning up after breakfast when she hears a knock at the door. Putting away her supplies, she dries her hands and hurries to answer the door. On the other side, she spots a strange woman, though she looks very sweet.

"Hello is this the Tsukumo residence?" the woman asks.

"Yes it is,” Mira replies. She makes sure to keep the door cracked just enough so she could look out but the stranger couldn’t look in.

"My name is Zaria Eatos, and I was looking for a boy named Astral that you adopted. He should be about 15 years old."

Mira looks behind her, before turning back to the woman in front of her. "He's, um, sleeping at the moment. Why do you want talk to him?"

"I'm a friend of his birth parents, and they would like to meet him."

"But why now?"

“They were having financial difficulties, and they didn’t want Indiora to be raised in that kind of situation.”

Mira felt a little upset; she had raised Astral and felt that he was her child. However, she didn’t want to keep him away from his birth parents.

“They won’t take him away,” Zaria assures when she see Mira's expression. “They just want to see how their son turned out.”

"Is there any particular time they want to meet him?" Mira asks.

“Well, they wanted to know if he wanted to meet them at all.”

"I'm not sure if he would but I can’t ask him right now." Mira seems a bit nervous.

“It’s not a problem, but please ask him when he does wakes up.” Zaria turns to leave but she planned on keeping an eye on the family.

"I will, it was nice to meet you," Mira says, giving Zaria a small smile.

“It was nice meeting you as well.” Zaria leaves and acts as though she was going back home. As soon as she arrives in a secluded area, she takes her true normal form.

Zaria looks at herself in a nearby stream. Her skin changes from light pale skin to a dark midnight blue, but her eyes were still a pearly pink, but they were more vibrant than they were before. She has dark purple marking all over her body along with her same ballet-style shoes and purple dress. Her hair was the same long light midnight blue color that it always been, but her earrings changed. They were silver with a curved deign with light blue crystals at the bottom.

“At long last, I have found the prince,” she whispers to her reflection.

Back at the house, Mira walks up the stairs to her son’s room. "How is he?" she asks Yuma.

“He still hasn’t woken up yet, but he’s okay for the most part,” Yuma answers, smiling brightly at his mother. He tries not to show how worried he was.

"Well, I hope he is dreaming happily," she whispers tenderly. 

“He’s been calm the whole time he’s been asleep. I don’t think we have to worry about him having any more nightmares.”

"Well, at least that's one good thing we have."

“I’m sure we have nothing to worry about,” Yuma says to assure his mother.

"Yes I hope so." Mira smiles at her son. She was happy that he could stay optimistic given the circumstances. Comfortable that Yuma has everything under control, she heads back down to finish cleaning up.

Yuma sighs and continues to watch over Astral. While he was good at hiding his worry, he couldn’t help but let it consume him right now.

Soon night came and the Tsukumo family settled in for the night. Yuma stays up most of night to watch over Astral; in the dark corner of the room, the young woman Zaria appears. She keeps her presents hidden from the boy so she wouldn’t accidentally scare him. She glances at the sleeping Astral, seeing him in the form he was originally born in.

A darker presence appears right next to Yums, and unlike Zaria, he doesn’t bother hiding his presence.

“Has there been any improvement boy?” Dark Mist asks. It was obvious he was impatient and hoping like Yuma that Astral would wake up sooner than he himself predicted.

Yuma jumps in shock; being nearly half asleep certainly didn’t help. He turns to face Dark Mist, glaring at him. “No, Astral hasn’t woken up yet.”

“You better not be lying to me boy. If you are I’ll make sure you suffer as well as him,” Dark Mist threatens.

Zaria watches Dark Mist from the dark corner of the room. ‘What is he doing here, and what does he want with the prince?’ she asks herself. One thing was certain: she would keep an eye on this unwanted guest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I own Zaria Eatos just not the artwork that I have of her. If anyone would like to see what Zaria looks like then please go to: https://www.wattpad.com/604603225-the-nightmare-number-chapter-13-the-pearl-in-the


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